NEW PALTZ, NY—Buffalo State's (25-11) bid to defend its SUNYAC Championship came to an end in the semifinals today at the hands of second-seeded Fredonia (23-10) with a four-set loss.
The Bengals went on the attack from the opening whistle, winning the opening set 25-16, but could not get over the hump, falling 23-25, 16-25 and 23-25.
Senior
Sam Parente (E. Patchogue/Bellport) led the Bengals offense with 15 kills and added nine digs.
Jessica Crooks (Niagara Falls/Niagara-Wheatfield) added 10 kills and three blocks.
Britt Hallett-Jonathan (Basom/Akron) dished out 20 assists with nine digs and three aces, while
Jennifer Cecchettini (Hamburg/Frontier) had 15 assists, 13 digs and three aces.
Rachelle Kelchlin (West Seneca/St. Mary's) had 27 digs, while
Hannah Renaldo (N. Collins/N. Collins) and
Allie Opera (Lancaster/Lancaster) had 16 and 14 digs respectively.
Buffalo State had a .119 attack percentage with 41 kills, while Fredonia finished with a .168 attack percentage and had 58 kills.
Parente was named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Bengals finished with 25 wins for the second-consecutive season and the two-year total of 50 matches the most in back-to-back seasons in the program's history (2001-02).